Puzzle Solutions - Colossal Cave Guide - IGN (2024)

This page contains a list of the interactions and puzzles that aren’t as simple as “collect the thing that is on the ground”. Hopefully this will be an easier resource to reference than online guides. I’ll make one list for the puzzles, and another for just the items in case you are wondering what, for example, the trident is used for.

Puzzle Solutions by Area

This is a list of all of the potential snags that I can think of. They are roughly sorted in order, but since this is a very open game after you get past the Hall of the Mountain King, that won’t be true for very long.

Opening the grate

The WellHouse grate is unlocked with the keys in WellHouse building.

Navigating the darkness safely

If you walk in a dark room, you are very likely to die. The lantern (in the WellHouse building) can be turned on by clicking on it in the inventory and choosing to turn it on. While carrying a lit lantern, you will not die in dark rooms.

Catching the bird

The bird will be scared if you are currently carrying the Black Rod from Debris Room in CobbleCrawl. If you are not carrying the Block Rod, clicking on the bird using the Wicker Cage (from the start of CobbleCrawl) will capture it. You are able to recollect the Black Rod after the bird is captured.

Crossing the Hall of Mist fissure

Clicking on the fissure with the Black Rod from CobbleCrawl’s Debris Room will cause a crystal bridge to appear. Clicking on the bridge with the Black Rod will cause it to vanish. The crystal bridge will also vanish when the cave is closing.

Getting past the snake in Hall of Mtn King

The snake in the Hall of the Mountain King must be scared away by clicking on it with the caged bird or dropping the caged bird on the ground in front of it.

Note: The SW exit of Hall of the Mountain King (to Secret Canyon) is only blocked by the snake sometimes. There is a chance that the snake will allow you to pass. If you do this and then allow the dragon in Secret Canyon to incinerate the bird, the game cannot be completed.

Getting past the dragon in Secret Canyon

When the dragon is standing in front of you, use the HAND cursor on it. The narrator will remind you that only a fool would attempt to kill a dragon with your bare hands. Use the HAND cursor again to punch the dragon asleep (nothing dies in this game, he’s fine!). This allows us to take his Rug.

Carrying the Gold Nugget up the stairs

You can’t (through intended means, anyways). In order to bring the Gold Nugget back to WellHouse, you have to use PLUGH in Y2.

Depositing treasures in WellHouse building

While standing in the WellHouse building, drop the treasure from inventory and it will automatically teleport to its home in the room. When depositing the Ming Vase, be sure to drop the Velvet Pillow first or it will break.

Using the magic words (XYZZY, PLUGH, Plover, FEE FIE FOE FOO)

There are four magic words in this game, and each has a special purpose. They are used from the inventory in our game, but only work if you’re in the proper room:

• XYZZY – Acquiring by using the EYE cursor on the XYZZY rock in Debris Room of CobbleCrawl. Causes the player to teleport between Debris Room and WellHouse building if used in either of those rooms.
• PLUGH – The player has a random chance of hearing this every time we enter the “Y2” room in Hall of the Mountain King. This teleports the player between Y2 and WellHouse building if used in either room.
• Plover – The player has a 50% chance of hearing this each time we enter the Plover Room in Orient. The teleports the player between the Plover Room and Y2 if used in either room. Note: The emerald is left behind if we are carrying it when we use Plover.
• FEE FIE FOE FOO – Elaborated on a little further down the doc, but we acquire this by using the EYE cursor on the FEE FIE FOE FOO writing on the wall of Giant’s Room. It causes the Golden Eggs to reappear in the nest in Giant’s Room.

Climbing the beanstalk in TwoPit

The tiny muttering plant in the W pit of the TwoPit room requires being watered exactly twice. The bottle in the WellHouse building starts filled with water, and can be refilled by clicking on a water source with the empty bottle. The most convenient water sources are in WellHouse again (while depositing treasures), or at the Small Pit in the E side of the Dirty, Broken Passage of Bedquilt region.

When the plant is watered twice, using the HAND cursor on it will climb. If you water it a third time, it will shrivel and die, and the game cannot be completed.

Opening the iron door in Giant’s Room

Clicking on the iron door with a bottle full of oil will loosen it up enough to be opened with the HAND cursor. The bottom of the E pit in TwoPit room has oil that you can collect with an empty bottle.

Opening the “clam”

The “clam” in the Shell Room of Bedquilt is opened by clicking on it with the Trident (found in Magnificent Cavern beyond the iron door N of Giant’s Room).

FEE FIE FOE FOO

The FEE FIE FOE FOO magic word written on the wall of Giant’s Room causes the Golden Eggs to teleport back to their nest in Giant’s Room. They will return here if you’ve deposited them in WellHouse, thrown them down a pit, had them stolen by Pirate, or gave them to the Troll, etc.

Getting past the Troll

The Troll in Troll Region demands treasure to cross the bridge. He will accept any treasure at all, but in order to get the maximum score, you should give him the Golden Eggs. We can recall the Golden Eggs back to the Giant’s Room, so they are never lost forever.

For the return trip across the bridge, you can scare the Troll away by escorting the Bear back to him. Note: if you opt to scare the Troll away with the Bear, be sure to use the HAND cursor on the bear afterwards to shoo him away. If you don’t, the bear will follow you across the bridge, crumble it, and watch you die.

Freeing the Bear

In order to release the bear, you first need to calm him down by giving the Tasty Food to him. Once it is calm, you can unlock the Golden Chain using the Keys (both of these are in WellHouse building). When the Bear is free, it will attempt to follow you and can scare the Troll off of the bridge. As above, if the Bear scares the troll away, be sure to dismiss him with the HAND cursor so he doesn’t destroy the bridge.

Fighting dwarves

Dwarf mechanics are mentioned in greater depth earlier in this document. In short, if you encounter a Dwarf, you can attempt to kill them (2/3 chance of success) by clicking on one with the Axe. You should always carry the Axe with you while you play.

Recovering items stolen by the Pirate

If the Pirate shows up and steals your treasure, you can recover them by going to his room in MazeAlike.

Navigating MazeAlike

The only point of interest in MazeAlike is the Pirate’s Room, which is marked with a chest on the map. We can exit MazeAlike either by climbing the ladder from the entrance room, or by climbing down the slope in Brink of Pit. This map is taken from the master map that we use for region/room names, and is a very good visual reference for MazeAlike. If you don’t want to figure out your own path, this is the one I prefer to take:

Enter MazeAlike → E → S → S → S → N → E → Brink of Pit

Brink of Pit → E → NW → Pirate’s Room

Pirate’s Room → SE → N → Brink of Pit → Down → Bird Room (CobbleCrawl)

Navigating MazeDifferent

We are never required to go to MazeDifferent, and the only real point of interest in the Vending Machine room (to acquire Batteries or see if the Pirate’s Message is written on the floor).

Room 0 is the entrance (climb down the ladder in this room to exit), and “pony” is the Vending Machine room. The quickest path between these two is:

Diff0 → SW (Diff2) → SE (Diff10) → S (pony)

Pony → N (Diff10) → NW (Diff4) → NE (Diff0) → Down (Exit to Hall of Mists)

Using the vending machine

The Vending Machine is never required to complete the game, and in fact costs us points to operate. If you click on the Vending Machine with the Coins (from W end of Hall of Mountain King), it will drop Batteries. Batteries refill your lamp power to 2500 moves when you lamp power is below 30 moves.

Squeezing through tight gap in Orient: Alcove→Plover

In order to squeeze through the tight gap in the Orient region between Alcove and Plover, we need to have no items in our inventory (including the lamp). Just drop them on the floor and walk through. This is the only room beyond CobbleCrawl that is safe to navigate without a lit lantern.

There is a 50% chance of hearing the Plover magic word (sound?) every time we enter this room, and that magic word is required for completing the game. If you don’t hear it, just keep walking between this room and the emerald altar until you do.

Entering the Dark Room of Orient (next to Plover)

To enter the Dark Room, we need to use the Plover magic word while in the Y2 room. This lets us bring a lantern into the Plover Room, which is required to enter the Dark Room and collect the Platinum Pyramid.

Prevent the Vase from breaking

To drop the Vase without breaking it, you must either currently be in the Soft Room, or you must drop the Velvet Pillow (also found in Soft Room of TwoPit region) on the ground first. To safely deposit the Vase in WellHouse, you must drop the pillow first.

Escaping Witt’s End

Every exit in Witt’s End except for West has a 5% chance of returning you to the Antechamber of Bedquilt. Just pick a direction that feels lucky (and isn’t West) and keep trying until you exit.

“Exiting the cave via Main Office”

After collecting all 15 treasures, the narrator tells us that the cave is closing, and to exit the cave via the Main Office. There is nothing that we can actively do to work towards the end of the game at this point. After enough time elapses (detailed in the cave closing section above), we will automatically be brought to the Repository.

Exiting the Repository

To finish the game from Repository, head to the S end of the room and collect the Black Rod. Click on it in the inventory and choose “Examine”. This will reveal that this Black Rod is actually Dynamite. Head back to the N of the room (the side with the sleeping dwarves, not the side with the snake pit), select the Dynamite in the inventory, and choose the THROW option. This will blow open the wall to the Main Office. As of my writing this, there is no automatic sequence for ending the game, so you can freely walk through the office to the door on the far end and complete the game!